This invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling textile items. Specifically, the invention is exemplified in the assembly of sleeve portions on to the body of a garment.
In the current state of the art, the assembly of sleeves onto T-shirts accounts for approximately 50% of the labor cost involved in producing the garment. The sleeves and the body of the garment are produced manually and in a final step the sleeves are manually attached to the body of the garment. In comparison to other operations performed in the industry, a relatively high level of skill is required to attach the sleeves to the garment.
In the prior art method of T-shirt manufacture, the sleeves are pre-fabricated from flat patterns into tubes with the inside facing out and having a finished edge and an unfinished edge. The garment body may be produced from a flat pattern or woven into a tube. The latter is preferred because it results in less waste fabric. The resultant garment body includes a neck opening and shoulder openings. In preparation for attachment of sleeves to the shoulder openings, the garment body is arranged to be right side out.
Typically, the worker (assembler) will align the edge of the sleeve with the edge of the shoulder opening and then manually present the aligned edges to a sewing machine and sew the sleeve to the body of the garment. Typically, the sewing machine used will trim the edges and stitch them together to produce a finished seam.
The prior art method of attaching sleeves to garment bodies requires a relatively high level of skilled labor and is very labor intensive. The cost of finished product is relatively high yet there is still room for improvement in both the level of quality and the level of consistency of the product.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of assembling garments.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of assembling garments which is more accurate and reduces waste.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which performs the improved method of assembling garments.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.